Spandau (locality)

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Spandau is a locality in the borough of Spandau, Berlin, Germany. It sits mainly on the western bank of the Havel River. As of December 31, 2023, about 41,759 people lived there, in an area of 8.03 square kilometers.

Geography
The locality is in the middle of its borough and borders Wilhelmstadt to the south, Staaken and Falkenhagener Feld to the west, Hakenfelde to the north, and Haselhorst, Siemensstadt, and Westend (in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district) to the east. Spandau is divided into four historic neighborhoods: Altstadt Spandau (Old Town), Neustadt Spandau (New Town), Stresow, and Kolk-Spandau.

History
Spandau formed at the meeting point of the Spree and Havel rivers. It has roots going back to Slav tribes in the 6th–8th centuries, with a fortress later built on the site. It was conquered by German King Henry I in 928, briefly returned to Slavic rule in 983, and grew around the fortress established by Albert the Bear in 1156. The name Spandau appears in records as Spandowe in 1197, and the town received city rights in 1232. The Spandau Citadel, a Renaissance fortress, began construction in the Ascanian era and was completed by 1594. Gatow joined Spandau in 1558. During the Thirty Years’ War, Spandau was taken by the Swedes in 1634.

In the Napoleonic era, French troops occupied Spandau (1806–1807) and again in 1812; the citadel was besieged in 1813 by Prussian and Russian forces. The poet Gottfried Kinkel was imprisoned there before his escape in 1850. Before World War I, Spandau was known for arms factories and as a garrison town with several military barracks. In 1920, Spandau became part of Greater Berlin as a borough.

World War II and after
During World War II, Spandau housed a subcamp of Sachsenhausen, mainly for Polish and Hungarian women. After the war, it was in the British occupation zone of West Berlin. Spandau Prison, used for Nazi war criminals tried at Nuremberg, stood here until its demolition after the last inmate, Rudolf Hess, died in 1987; the site is now a shopping mall.

Places of interest
Notable sites include Spandau Citadel, a Renaissance fortress; St. Nikolai Church, a late Gothic hall church; the medieval Gothic House in the Old Town; and Rathaus Spandau (the town hall, completed in 1913).

Transportation
Spandau is served by the Berlin S-Bahn lines S3 and S9 and the U-Bahn line U7. The main railway station is Berlin Spandau, a major transport hub.